Forum focuses on a return to old ways, self-reliance

Published: Friday, November 8, 2013 at 10:19 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, November 8, 2013 at 10:19 a.m.

FLAT ROCK — A whirlwind of economic and environmental changes is destabilizing our world, sustainability experts told an audience Thursday at Blue Ridge Community College. But they said locals can weather the storm by learning from the self-reliance of earlier generations.

About 75 people attended the evening forum in the Blue Ridge Conference Hall, titled "Preparing for the Future by Reclaiming Our Self-Reliance." It featured two international sustainability experts and a panel of local "elders" recounting stories of living simple lives of resourcefulness.

Local historian Jennie Jones Giles related how Henderson County's pioneer families grew all their own food, supplemented with wild fish and game. What wasn't eaten was dried or canned for the winter, she said, while clothing was woven and sewn from scratch.

"These old-timers would tell me that once a month they might go to town," Giles said. "And there were four things on that shopping list: flour, sugar, coffee and salt, because you can't grow wheat up here, so flour was a luxury."

Alma Avery, 81, recalled working all day as a child in return for a single meal and cutting timber with a 6-foot-long crosscut saw with her sister.

"The old mules were so poor that we had to help the mules pull the logs out of the mountains," she said.

To heat their home, her family would throw giant oak logs in the fireplace to burn all night. "And our legs would be burnt and white in the front and frozen in the back," she said.

Avery still grows a bountiful garden, selling canned goods and baked goods at the Henderson County Tailgate Market.

Leon Pace, a member of the Henderson County Genealogical and Historical Society whose relatives were county pioneers, recalled growing up on local farms where his family grew large food gardens, raised livestock and lit its home with kerosene lamps.

"You don't want to burn up all your oil, so you'd blow the lights out and go to bed early and save the lights," Pace said. "And you don't want to play the radio too long, because it takes the battery down. So we went to bed early, and we got up early."

Nicole Foss, a Canadian financial and energy expert who edits the online journal Automatic Earth, warned audience members that the United States is on the brink of a "serious fiscal contraction" that she predicted will lead to deglobalization, protectionism and trade wars.

She urged attendees to invest in localized economies and accept more modest returns, pool resources such as tools and skills and build what she called "social capital" through means such as community gardens and local bartering.

Her message of localized self-reliance was echoed by New Zealand sustainability expert Laurence Boomert, who said modern society has the technology and design capabilities to adapt to global crises, but often lacks the power of local collaboration.

Humanity may be failing at a global level, but Boomert said it functions well when neighbors get together.

When neighbors meet and cooperate, "there is so much we can do," he said. "Of course, churches have been doing this for a very long time, bringing people together in all sorts of constructive and mutually supportive ways. How can we take that out into a ‘whole town' kind of aspect, or a whole regional aspect?"

Boomert gave examples from his home country of the kind of resourcefulness he's advocating: edible gardens planted along bike paths; local-milk vending machines that give neighbors direct access to fresh, organic milk while boosting profits for farmers; and community feasts where young and old alike share meals and stories.

Thursday's program was sponsored by ECO, the Center for Cultural Preservation, Transition Hendersonville, the Hendersonville Co-op, the N.C. Humanities Council and Blue Ridge Community College.

<p>FLAT ROCK — A whirlwind of economic and environmental changes is destabilizing our world, sustainability experts told an audience Thursday at Blue Ridge Community College. But they said locals can weather the storm by learning from the self-reliance of earlier generations.</p><p>About 75 people attended the evening forum in the Blue Ridge Conference Hall, titled "Preparing for the Future by Reclaiming Our Self-Reliance." It featured two international sustainability experts and a panel of local "elders" recounting stories of living simple lives of resourcefulness.</p><p>Local historian Jennie Jones Giles related how Henderson County's pioneer families grew all their own food, supplemented with wild fish and game. What wasn't eaten was dried or canned for the winter, she said, while clothing was woven and sewn from scratch. </p><p>"These old-timers would tell me that once a month they might go to town," Giles said. "And there were four things on that shopping list: flour, sugar, coffee and salt, because you can't grow wheat up here, so flour was a luxury."</p><p>Alma Avery, 81, recalled working all day as a child in return for a single meal and cutting timber with a 6-foot-long crosscut saw with her sister. </p><p>"The old mules were so poor that we had to help the mules pull the logs out of the mountains," she said. </p><p>To heat their home, her family would throw giant oak logs in the fireplace to burn all night. "And our legs would be burnt and white in the front and frozen in the back," she said. </p><p>Avery still grows a bountiful garden, selling canned goods and baked goods at the Henderson County Tailgate Market. </p><p>Leon Pace, a member of the Henderson County Genealogical and Historical Society whose relatives were county pioneers, recalled growing up on local farms where his family grew large food gardens, raised livestock and lit its home with kerosene lamps.</p><p>"You don't want to burn up all your oil, so you'd blow the lights out and go to bed early and save the lights," Pace said. "And you don't want to play the radio too long, because it takes the battery down. So we went to bed early, and we got up early." </p><p>Nicole Foss, a Canadian financial and energy expert who edits the online journal Automatic Earth, warned audience members that the United States is on the brink of a "serious fiscal contraction" that she predicted will lead to deglobalization, protectionism and trade wars. </p><p>She urged attendees to invest in localized economies and accept more modest returns, pool resources such as tools and skills and build what she called "social capital" through means such as community gardens and local bartering.</p><p>Her message of localized self-reliance was echoed by New Zealand sustainability expert Laurence Boomert, who said modern society has the technology and design capabilities to adapt to global crises, but often lacks the power of local collaboration.</p><p>Humanity may be failing at a global level, but Boomert said it functions well when neighbors get together. </p><p>When neighbors meet and cooperate, "there is so much we can do," he said. "Of course, churches have been doing this for a very long time, bringing people together in all sorts of constructive and mutually supportive ways. How can we take that out into a 'whole town' kind of aspect, or a whole regional aspect?"</p><p>Boomert gave examples from his home country of the kind of resourcefulness he's advocating: edible gardens planted along bike paths; local-milk vending machines that give neighbors direct access to fresh, organic milk while boosting profits for farmers; and community feasts where young and old alike share meals and stories.</p><p>Thursday's program was sponsored by ECO, the Center for Cultural Preservation, Transition Hendersonville, the Hendersonville Co-op, the N.C. Humanities Council and Blue Ridge Community College. </p><p><i>Reach Axtell at 828-694-7860 or than.axtell@blueridgenow.com.</p>